Software Engineer
Interview Guide

For FAANG-level companies, plan for 2–3 months of dedicated preparation: 4–6 weeks on coding fundamentals, 2–3 weeks on system design, and ongoing behavioral preparation. For mid-tier companies, 4–6 weeks of focused preparation is typically sufficient.

LeetCode is necessary but not sufficient. Coding represents roughly 40–50% of the interview. You also need system design preparation, behavioral interview practice, and company-specific research. Use LeetCode for coding patterns and combine it with system design mock interviews.

The most common failure modes: 1) Jumping to code before fully understanding the problem (always clarify), 2) Poor communication (silence while solving), 3) Not handling edge cases, 4) Weak behavioral answers, and 5) Giving up on hard problems too early instead of explaining partial approaches.

For senior engineers (5+ years), system design is often the deciding factor and is weighted equally with or above coding. For junior engineers (0–3 years), coding is primary. For mid-level engineers (3–5 years), both matter significantly. Calibrate your preparation accordingly.